Apple has asked is main manufacturing partner, Hon Hai -- better known as Foxconn -- to start shipping new high-end and low-end iPhone models early next month, according to sources for the
Wall Street Journal. Suppliers are said to have started parts production back in June. The sources don't have many details about the low-end phone, but do remark that the flagship device will have a metal casing and the same size and resolution as the iPhone 5.
One detail that is mentioned about the lower-tier phone is that Apple is allegedly
skewing parts orders towards it, presumably on the assumption that it will sell more units than its more expensive sibling. Orders for the latter should go up in the fourth quarter however, the sources say.
While little of the
Journal's information is new, it does appear to reinforce recent rumors about Apple's plans. The high-end phone is likely to be called the iPhone 5S, and sport features like a better camera, a faster processor, and a fingerprint sensor, while shipping in
slate, silver, and/or gold colors. The cheaper model is reportedly called the
iPhone 5C, and may essentially be an iPhone 5 but with a plastic back in several different colors.
Top